Day 1: Meet a Friend for a FREE, Non-Food Related Outing

Day 1: Meet a Friend for a FREE, Non-Food Related Outing

When I plan a get-together with friends, the email subject line is usually one of the following:

7pm Dinner at “Deliousness Fat-Filled Tapas Bar”

Let’s grab drinks on Thursday for Happy Hour! I hear they make an awesome sugar-filled Mojito.

Come over to my place for girly movies and a tub of cookie dough – perhaps after a few drinks, we can order pizza!

When I arrive at so-called event with my journal in tow (part of Weight Watchers is to record all the “points” you eat during the day), I realize that nothing I’ve planned gels with what I can healthily eat and be happy with. I then spiral into the “it’s not fair mode” and wish I could eat whatever I wanted, and wonder why I can’t. As the organizer of said event, does that mean I’m guilty of self-sabotage?

When I get down to it, I hardly ever meet friends for an activity that doesn’t involve food. If I manage to find an activity void of food temptation, it’s usually expensive – shopping, a movie (which 99% of the time means buttered popcorn), etc. That’s the breaks of living in New York, right? WRONG. My goal tonight is to meet up with a friend for a non-food related activity that’s free.

At 7pm, I’m meeting Gillian at the South end of Central Park to embark on an hour long walk. I’ve lived in the NYC area for over five years and have been to Central Park approximately 10 times – eight of those instances were to sun bath in Sheeps Meadow. That being said, I’ve never even seen some of the park and look forward to catching up with Gillian.

I’ll be back after the conclusion of my first, new adventure!

After my Weight Watchers meeting (I lost 1 lb – go me) I met Gillian on 59^th Street – the Southern base of Central Park. We wove thru the park and I saw some new sites including the Boat House and a man creating sand art. The weather was gorgeous and I was happy to be outside. Gillian and I chatted the entire walk, which made the hour fly by. On the way home I noticed that my stress from the workday had melted away and my headache was gone too.

 My biggest reservation going into this was “I don’t have enough time”. Can you say EXCUSE?! What would I have done if I hadn’t met Gillian for a walk? Most likely I would have sat on the couch watching HGTV eating fat free ice cream. By trying something new I ended up having a delightful evening with a friend and didn’t spend a dime!

 I think this is something that anyone in any town can do. Grab a friend and stroll thru a neighborhood with beautiful homes, if it’s raining hit the mall (window shopping only ladies) or use your lunch break for a 30-minute walk. Bottom line, walking is a great workout and free. Getting outside and meeting a friend can brighten your mood and get rid of the workweek’s tension.  So grab your walking shoes and a friend and give it a go!